Teens are up to 50% less likely to use drugs if they have parents who consistently teach them about the risks of drugs and alcohol.
By the 8th grade, 28% of adolescents have drank alcohol, 15% have smoked cigarettes, and 16.5% have tried marijuana.
40% of seniors in high school believe using heroin once or twice is not harmful, and 50% think using crack and cocaine once or twice is not harmful.
The teenage brain and alcohol are a dangerous combination. In a teenagers the part of the brain that associated with self-regulation, judgement, reasoning, problem-solving, and impulse control takes longer to mature than the limbic areas that regulate emotions and sensitivity to risk. So teens begin wanted to take risks, but haven’t yet learned how to make good decisions. The risk taking part of the brain increases kids wanting to drink alcohol for the thrill, while the less developed part of the brain increases the likelihood of making bad decisions.
Compared to adults, when teens drink alcohol they are more likely to suffer blackouts, memory loss, and alcohol poisoning from drinking and it can impact their ability to remember things in the future.
Alcohol kills 6.5 times more teenagers than all illicit drugs combined.
Prescription drugs are abused more often than illicit drugs. In 2010, opiates and painkillers were tied to almost 60% of drug overdose deaths. Coalition Against Drug Abuse
Every day, approximately 3,900 kids between the ages of 12-17 start using tobacco products.
Research shows that 85% of people who have lung cancer got it from smoking.
Tobacco contains nicotine which is an extremely addictive chemical that is absorbed into the bloodstream when smoked.
Compared to heroin or cocaine, nicotine is just as addictive. Making it much harder to quit.
It is much more difficult for a person to quit smoking if they started before they were 21 years old.
The physical effects of nicotine include constricted blood vessels, high blood pressure, difficulty breathing and rapid heartbeat.